I realized that this Christmas season. I was having a difficult time getting into the gift-giving mode of Christmas and I couldn't figure out why. Well, it's because I couldn't figure out what people closest to me needed or needed. And while I probably am still giving out some perfunctory gifts that came from someone's wish list, at least it shows that I love them, because I do.
But...
I did get some great gifts for my parents and Cody. My parents' gift is no secret. My sister and I are paying for family pictures, since the last ones we took were when I graduated from college and Cody and Westley weren't in our family yet. We get to do that today (hopefully, if planes arrive on time...). And Cody's gifts...I don't want to give away any surprises, but I know that he won't be surprised by the loving practicality of some of the gifts, since I gave him shoes for church last year. However, I do know that there is at least one gift that he will be surprised by.
Thorvaldsen Christus |
"However dim our days may seem, they have been a lot darker for the Savior of the world. As a reminder of those days, Jesus has chosen, even in a resurrected, otherwise perfected body, to retain for the benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His side--signs, if you will, that painful things happen even tot he pure and the perfect; signs, if you will, that pain in this world is not evidence that God doesn't love you; signs, if you will, that problems pass and happiness can be ours." --Jeffrey R. Holland, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles